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I recently bought a HSRR MCLaren M8d on HRW and just claimed a Carrera McLaren from CincySlots. So yes, I'm being dragged down the rabbit hole again by an addition to another series from racing's golden age (IMHO). I was online earlier and had 3 Can Am cars in my cart from a major hobby site, but didn't make the purchase. Before getting in too deep I need to know more about the different makes and what's going to be competitive with what.

If you have any of these cars from any manufacturer please chime in with your thoughts. If anyone has Can Am cars in good running condition they'd be willing to sell or trade, I'm interested in that too. But, I'm mainly interested in learning more about these cars from people who have them.

Slothead

I run a Carrera home track, the Carrera McLaren and Porsche 917/30 Sunoco cars run very well and quiet; the converted/chipped Monogram Lola T70s and McLaren M6s are noisy and so low the gear hits the track rails, but other than that they fast and fun.

The Slot.it cars are much quicker and better handling than either Carrera or Monogram. It would be best to run Slot.its in a separate class if you are looking for even racing. You can probably run the Monogram with the Carrera cars with pretty even results. Beware that Monogram cars had a lot of quality control issues that often require work to make them run right.

What type of track are you running on?
The HRRS is a unique - good runner with some tuning
Carrera are good on magnet track and can be tuned to run well on wood as well.
slot.it are smooth runners but need some tuning.
Rev monogram cars have a hot motor in them - makes them a bit hard to tame without magnet - properly set up on a magnet track they are pretty much unbeatable

I'll be racing the Can Am cars on a routed mdf road course with matte latex paint and copper tape. It's a pretty technical 65 ft track with about a 10 ft back straight. I think all my cars came with magnets but they don't do anything except add a bit of weight. Most of the cars have been upgraded to PG urethane tires, though newer stock tires do well too.

I'll probably end up with 8 - 10 Can Am cars, at least 2 each of McLaren, Lola T70, Porsche 971/10 & 30, and Chaparral. The last 2 would be UOP Shadow DN4A's if I can find any. In this basically 'anything goes' series I think the Shadow was the meanest looking of the bunch.



Comments appreciated.

Slothead

As has been mentioned, Slot.it's Can Am cars are excellent runners. I have several of their McLaren M8 and their Chaparral 2E.

Harry linked to CG Slot Cars Chaparral 2J, a very unique 3D printed model. CG makes some of the best 3D printed models and parts. I'm very interested in another 3D printed Can Am car that is under development at CG, the Ti-22 that had a very brief run in 1969. You can get a look at the CG prototype here : http://cgslotcars.us/cars.html (Click on "Out Soon" for a look at the Ti-22)

The Can Am was a marvelous series. You'll have fun collecting and running them.

CANAM was a great series in its heyday, noisey fast and some eclectic designs.
A good fun class to run. There are even body kits available to build your own onto an existing chassis or a prefab one. My aim was to try for parity between the different manufacturers. Not always an easy task. But the other option is to stick to one manufacturer. I usually get a book on a class that interests me and there are some great CANAM books out there and a lot of online info too. I suppose the bottom line is if you like the class you can go about anywhere with it.
Have fun above all else
Bob

Thanks to Harry for reminding me about 3D printed options. 3D printing might even mean a 1/32 Shadow body could surface at some point.

Within a week I'll have HRSS, Carrera, and Slot.it cars to test and see which ones need work to be competitive with others. Perhaps some will get PG tires while others remain stock.

I just realized trying to create parity for a Can Am series kinda goes against what the series was about. Perhaps the best example of this is the #6 Sunoco-Penske Porsche 917/30 that some say killed the series it was so dominant. (Could this be deja vu all over again from the Trans Am series?)

Slothead

Slothead :text-goodpost:
I almost pulled the trigger earlier on the Sunoco- Porsche I must have been one of the first to spot it :angry-tappingfoot:
Cincy had great prices on all those hot rods he posted. :clap:
That's one thing about the 1/32"cars, you, I never get tired of looking for the next good deal. :o
I've been trying to buy a few of each brand of cars. :o :o :o

bigman :flags-waveusa: BIG Fan of 1'32 cars :clap:

After buying the HSRR McLaren I just had to get some more Can Am cars to race with it. Cincy Slots had a Carrera McLaren M20 for sale that I bundled a Slot.It Chaparral 2E with. Then, over the holidays I gave in and ordered 2 more cars from Electric Dreams - the Carrera #6 Porsche 917/30 (Penske-Donohue) and a Fly Porsche 917/10. They arrived when I was bedridden with the flu and I just got to try them out this past weekend.

After putting PG tires on the HSRR McLaren it was amazingly the fastest of the bunch. Next was the Slot.It Chaparral right out of the box it's smooth and fast and mucho fun to drive. Now I understand why these cars are so highly rated. The Fly Porsche was 3rd, followed by the Carrera Porsche 917/30 and finally the Carrera McLaren M20. I have PG tires to fit the Fly Porsche, but will need to order tires for the Carrera cars.

The bottom line is they are all fun to drive and with PG tires on all of them (except the Slot.It Chaparral), they should be competitive with each other. The Fly Porsche 917/10 even ran well out of the case and looks great on the track. When I can get another Chaparral, 2 Lola T70's, and build 2 Shadow DN4A cars, I'll have a fun 10 car series.

Just a few tidbits:

The Monogram cars can be made better with a little work.
http://www.electricdreams.com/Slot-Car- ... 0-rebuild/
http://www.electricdreams.com/Slot-Car- ... s/deja-vu/
http://www.electricdreams.com/Slot-Car- ... ct-part-2/
I like running DART urethane tires on these cars.
CG Slot Cars now has a chassis for the Lola.
Revell-Monogram and MRRC have the Chaparral 2C.

And for Carrera (haven’t tried this):
http://www.electricdreams.com/Slot-Car- ... t-mclaren/

HSRR has a few tuneup hints: http://www.historic-scale-racing-replicas.net .
MCR magazine had some articles on the car.

Don’t forget the beautiful Fly Porsche 917PA. I believe Tony Dean ran a 908/2.
RMS resins has a McLaren M12 and Ferrari 612. Or had - they don’t show on the website.
George Turner Models has a McLaren M1A.
And the Thunderslot Lola’s are in another league.
For me, the primo Cam-Am car is the SlotIt McLaren in the Dan Gurney livery.
Have fun!

My Can-Am roster continues to grow. It's now up to 8 cars, with the latest additions being a Policar Ferrari 312B, a Slot.It Alfa Romeo 33/3, and a Monogram McLaren M6B (Dan Gurney). THe Policar Ferrari and Slot.It Alfa Romeo are smooth and fast as expected. I took a chance with the Monogram McLaren because it's a great looking car, and honors Dan Gurney. It was a bargain at $39.99 from Victory Lap Hobbies.


I wasn't expecting much from the Monogram McLaren and out of the box it was disappointing. I took it apart and got the rear axle freed up and lubricated the gears. After breaking it in it got quicker and quicker and turned out to be a very good car. The only upgrade I plan to do with it is add PGT-21126XD urethane tires.

Dont forget the ThunderSlot Lolas, man they are movers right out of the box.
Bob

Just an FYI, Victory Lap was out of the #48 Gurney, just tried to buy one.
However, Professor Motor has the bodies ready to go for $19.99! So I grabbed one of those along with the 67 Fairlane in white.